One Thousand, One Hundred, Thirty-Two
by Rasiaa
Summary: Have you ever heard a ghost story? Like, a proper one? And no, I don't mean the ones from the Hogwarts ghosts- honestly, Scorpius- I mean with people. Real people. And disappearances./"I have now. You were my ghost story."
1. Chapter 1

_Last Ship Sailing Comp- beneficial- word, knife- object, pastel blue- color, "I thought you'd still be asleep"- dialogue, and finally, scared- emotion._

 _One-shot Two-shot challenge- this will be a two-shot_

 _And of course, FRIENDS Challenge_

* * *

It's been a while since Scorpius has seen Albus.

For all that they were best friends for over seven years, one day, Albus disappeared and never came home.

He never said anything to anyone. But his things were gone and really, Scorpius wasn't surprised in the least. He knew Albus better than anyone.

Better than anyone.

…

 _"Do you have to be so loud?"_

 _"I thought you'd still be asleep," Allie said. "I'm sorry."_

 _Scorpius groaned. "I was asleep. Then you stumbled in here like hell was after you."_

 _He sat up and pulled the curtains back to look at his friend. Albus looked exhausted. "What's up?" Scorpius asked, taking in the dark circles under emerald eyes and the tired slump of his shoulders. It looked even as if Albus had new lines on his face. "Allie?"_

 _"Do you want to run away?"_

 _Scorpius was shocked. For all they were hated in Hogwarts and were treated poorly even outside it, he had never considered such a thing. It would break his father, shatter Scorpius' life, and he wouldn't know what to do. He's seventeen going on seven, after all._

 _He told Allie so._

 _If anything, his words seemed to make Albus even more tired. "Okay," he said. And that was all._

…

Scorpius spends most of his time in the Malfoy manor. He cleans, bakes, writes, and overall, he grieves. The house elves don't know what to do with themselves, and Draco watches his son waste away without a word. There is nothing to say.

An owl soars in the window, landing in front of Scorpius with a soft hoot. He reaches for her and she climbs on his arm, settling quickly and leaning into his shoulder. "Hey, little one," Scorpius whispers, surprised to see her.

She's Allie's owl, Emmy.

He feeds her a bit of the biscuit in front of him on the table, then takes the tie off her leg and the small piece of parchment behind the gold ribbon. She nibbles at his hair and he ignores her as she climbs to his shoulder, instead using his free hand and his knee to unroll the parchment. He tilts his head into her and reads.

 _I want to see you. You know where. Be discreet._

There is no signature, no other words.

But Scorpius is elated. "Dad!" he calls, standing, the blanket over his legs falling to the ground. Emmy digs her claws into his collarbone.

Draco wanders into the room, looking calm, but confused. "Scorpius?" he prods, and he hands his father the letter. Draco raises his eyebrows after he reads it and meets Scorpius' eyes. "What is this?" he asks.

"It's from Allie," Scorpius says.

Blond eyebrows shoot into his hairline as Draco digests this.

"It's been three years," Draco says, unnecessarily, glancing at the note again.

"I know," Scorpius says. He's counted every day. 1132 days.

Draco hands back the note; "Should I say anything to Allie's father?"

"No."

"Alright, then, go-"

And Scorpius is gone.

…

 _"Have you ever heard a ghost story?"_

 _Scorpius gave Albus a flat look and pointed up with his knife. "We live with ghosts- of course I-"_

 _"No, no," Allie interrupted, "A proper ghost story."_

 _Scorpius rolled his eyes and stabbed his chicken. "I don't know how much more proper you can get," he said. "They're ghosts themselves, you know…"_

 _"I mean people- real people, not dead ones. I mean disappearing."_

 _Scorpius paused, fork half way to his mouth, staring at Albus, questioning. Albus flushed. "Forget it."_

…

 _Albus' words haunted Scorpius for months. He watched, he waited, and finally- Albus slipped up._

 _"I hate it here," he said, and Scorpius grunted in agreement, eyes fixated on his Defense textbook for his NEWTS in three days. He hoped for at least an E but there was no telling what would happen._

 _"Sometimes I feel like it would be easier to not do any of this…"_

 _"Any of what?" Scorpius asked, distracted. He muttered under his breath and made a note in the corner of the book, practically feeling Albus' glare when he did so._

 _Albus always respected books more than Scorpius. Said there's nothing beneficial in writing in them- only in making notes to be more organized. Scorpius just said he didn't want to admit that he inherited something from Hermione._

 _"You know," Allie said, irritated. He dropped down onto the floor next to the blond, picking at the silver carpet below them. He leaned against the couch and someone shrieked a little._

 _Both boys glanced up to find Victoria Green pulling herself away from them quickly. "Blasted killers," she snarled, and Albus' face blanked while Scorpius sighed and returned to his book._

 _"I don't know," Scorpius said, watching as the girl stalked off through the entrance wall, the stones grinding to a close behind her. He relaxed a little._

 _"Don't know what?" Allie asked, and Scorpius rolled his eyes._

 _"You have the attention span of a gnat," he told Albus, underlining a sentence in his book. "You said it would be easier not to do this, but I don't know what "this" is referring to."_

 _"Quit writing in the book and maybe I'll elaborate," Albus snipped, tugging at Scorpius' quill- deceptively gentle, despite his words and tone. He knew the importance of the peacock heirloom._

 _Scorpius sighed and set the book down. Albus frowned at the sheer amount of pen strokes, but relented and said, "Why learn magic? Why bother with any type of school at all?"_

 _"Oh, please tell me I won't lose you like we lost Dom. She was wonderful, and now she is pretending to be a muggle."_

 _There was no reply._

...

"Cori?" came a tentative voice from the corner, and Scorpius turns.

Achingly familiar emerald green eyes peer at him from underneath the cloak, closed off.

Well. Closed to anyone other than Scorpius, anyway- all he sees is weariness, exhaustion, hope-

The mark of someone expecting to be let down.

He's scared, Scorpius realizes in a rush of clarity. So Scorpius does the only thing he can think to do. The only thing he wants to do.

He pulls the shorter man close and kisses him hard.

Albus clutches at his wrists desperately, kissing back, and then they break apart. "Crazy," Albus says. "I never imagined I'd be missed that badly."

"Your family is the most depressing set of people I've ever seen and my father and I have been doing nothing except the house elves' jobs for the past three years. Why in the hell did you think you weren't going to be missed?"

Albus tugs the cloak off his head and Scorpius only has a moment to register the pastel blue hair before he's pushed into a chair. Albus sits across from him, running his fingers through his hair- and yup, there it is. The silver underneath. After their fourth year, Albus never missed an opportunity to flaunt his House colors, and Scorpius is glad to see that it hasn't changed.

"Maybe because you never tried to stop me from leaving?" Allie says, leaning his arm on the table and his head on his hand. He twirls his wand in his fingers.

Scorpius shrugs. "I know you better than anyone, Allie. I know you needed to leave." Allie looks at him gratefully, eyes shining.

"Where were you, anyway? Why did you leave?"

Albus opens his mouth then closes it, dropping his arm and turning away. His eyelashes brush his cheeks and Scorpius waits on baited breath for the answer.

…

 _It's not like I have a draw to the muggle world._

 _It's that I never wanted the wizarding one._


	2. Chapter 2

_I can remember being afraid._

 _And I recall- vaguely- that I told someone, and they never said anything in return. They stared blankly ahead without blinking, and it scared me more than anything ever had._

"I am sorry, you know. That I never noticed."

"Wasn't your fault."

"No- really. I paid too much attention to the little things that I missed the big picture."

"Like what?"

"Like the time you asked me if I had ever heard a ghost story, and I told you no, and… well. I've heard one now. You are my ghost story."

"And the big picture? What do you think that is?"

"You hurt."

Albus smiles, a fleeting thing, pastel blue hair glinting in the night lights as he tilts his head. Silver twinkles from underneath it, and Scorpius wishes for a lot of things, in that moment.

"You never told me why you left."

And here he hesitates. "I did. I. Never wanted any of this." He stands, and wipes the dust from his robes. Scorpius is quick to follow.

"Wait. Please don't leave us like this…"

Albus smiles again, sad and distant. "We aren't friends anymore, Scorpius. It has been too long to claim that."

While he feels like he's just been run through, Scorpius shakes his head in agreement. "I know. I know that. But."

"I know."

And Albus walks forward and kisses him again. His breath is sharp with mint and Scorpius feels like the blade that ran him through has now dug upwards.

Wishes never come true, he's learned that much.

…

He leaves again, without a whisper. He blends in easily with the crowd, and even though Scorpius watches him leave, he loses sight before long. He lowers his eyes to the floor below him, dusty and beige and entirely too consuming. It has taken many people hostage, and Albus and Scorpius are no different than anyone else, and he knows that. He does. He just longs for that difference, that thing that would set them apart from anyone else.

He leaves the Department of Mysteries without looking back.

…

The countdown resets to one.

…

"Is there something that can help?"

"I'm open to suggestions, darling."

…

He wakes with a gasp, pale and sweating, the voice and face of Astoria Malfoy fading from crystal clear to weak and foggy. He shakes it off and leans back, eyes closing as he tries to catch his breath.

Pale dawn light filters through the window, and he sighs as he stares out across the grounds. He pulls the sheets off and shivers as his bare feet are exposed to cold air. He stands, gritting his teeth as blood rushes to his head. He should know by now that standing too quickly only leads to bruises on his too pale skin.

"Master Scorpius," a voice says, shocked, and the blond turns, and inclines his head at the house elf, who promptly looks scandalized. "Master Scorpius," it repeats, reproachful, and he just laughs.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course."

It sounds ashamed that he even has to ask. "You can't even tell my father."

"Who?"

Cheeky thing.

"Albus told me the truth, last night."

It nods, eyes wide, and here, he pauses, searching for the words. "Albus- was abused…"

"By who?"

"That. That I don't know. I don't know that I ever will."

"Can you keep a secret?"

Scorpius blinks in surprise. He nods.

The house elf glances around and then he says, "There used to be someone who snuck into the gardens at night whenever Master Albus was here. Only on those nights. I never said anything because he never came within twenty kilos of the house itself, and therefore was never considered a threat."

Scorpius loses his breath abruptly.

…

 _They used to tell me proper ghost stories. And then if I told them to anyone else, they'd kill me._

 _Who?_

 _I can't tell you that._

…

Scorpius bites at the edge of the quill, eyes unfocused as he stares at the picture frame on his desk.

The figures in the picture dance around one another, green robes flashing in the wind, and his heart aches a little more with each passing moment because that picture was taken the day they graduated.

A knock on the door sounds through the room, and he jolts, elbow hitting the ink pot and spilling all over the floor. "Dammit. Come in."

"What's wrong- oh, I see. _Scourgify_."

"Sorry, Father," Scorpius mutters, staring at the stain on the floor in resentment. It was purple ink, too. It'll stick to the fine white carpet.

"Nonsense. What did Albus have to say?"

"He's been attacked by someone who used to sneak on the grounds here. He had to leave the abuse."

Draco is pale when he looks over, and there isn't much Draco can say, really.

Except. "I'll write him a letter. Apologize. I had… no idea. But I bet I know who it was."

Scorpius cocks his head to the side and waits.

…

Draco had been told ghost stories too by the ghost that haunted the grounds. But the ghost, he said, had never been malevolent.

"Why?"

"He should never have been here. He is of the wrong House."

"He was Slytherin-"

"Potter, boy. He is a Potter."

Scorpius grinds his teeth.

"And what did you say to him? What were the stories?"

"I simply told him what happened to children who run astray."

"That they disappear?"

"That they die."

…

"I know you figured it out. You never were stupid, were you?"

Scorpius jumps, the candle in his hands falling to the ground and shattering on impact.

"Dammit," he swears, and the woman comes over from behind the counter as he leans down to pick up the pieces. The man behind him just stands there and watches.

"You know you have to buy this, right?" the woman checks, and he nods and waves it off.

"That's no issue," he says. "It was only a few pounds."

"13£, kid."

He looks at the price and nods. "Again. No issue."

She hesitates, then walks away with the broken glass.

He doesn't watch her and instead, he turns to Albus, who nods at the woman. "I'll pay for it."

"With what money?" he demands in return. Albus shrugs.

"I've been using my own bank account. My inheritance. Since I'm over seventeen, the goblins never said anything to my parents."

"You're absolutely impossible."

Albus snorts and leans against the nearby wall. "So. How'd you figure it out?"

"What, the ghost?"

"Yeah, the ghost."

"It just. Fit. My father used to hear similar stories, but the ghost had never attacked him because he is a Malfoy. Crazy, huh?"

Albus looks away. Scorpius reaches for him and rejoices inwardly when his oldest and dearest friend doesn't pull away. "I can basically hear your thoughts, Albus. Stop thinking like that."

"Like what?" he bites back, emerald green eyes flashing in anger and desperation.

"Like you're worthless. Because you're not."

Albus says nothing. Scorpius sighs. "Look. Let's go back to my house and we'll exorcise the ghost and then talk this through. Let me hear what you've been doing. Because based on the hair, I think you've had a semi-decent time, no?"

Albus laughs, and he nods. "Yeah, okay. Fine. Sounds like a plan to me."

Scorpius hesitates.

The other man notices, of course he does, and he rolls his eyes and tugs the blond into a kiss. "I told you we're not friends," he whispers. Scorpius nods.

"Not friends."


End file.
